Spotting a quality project through the morass that is the crowdfunding universe has become increasingly more difficult. The current state of affairs has led to watch enthusiasts to be let down time and time again by projects that over promise and underperform. While I am certainly skeptical of Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms, I love the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity that is central to this space. I have spoken at length about projects that lack creativity or brand identity so when I come across a project that is offering something authentically unique, I have to speak about it. This is where Caliper Timepieces comes in, a brand with an unfiltered sense of purpose and design aesthetic.

Brainchild of designer Mikael Sandblom, the Caliper View is an extraordinary collection of timepieces that harkens back to a different era in manufacturing. An industrial styled skeleton dial is the first visual queue that distinguishes the View from other offerings currently on the market. Whether you like the aesthetic of skeleton watches or not, I would hope true watch enthusiasts can appreciate the craftsmanship and general approach Caliper is taking. Coming in at 38mm with a stainless steel case, the View while visual verbose is functionally muted in a way that blends design with practicality (no secret here, I prefer watches in the 38mm-43mm range). I am clearly not the only one to appreciate what Caliper is doing, the Kickstarter public reacted enthusiastically to say the least. With nearly 25 days left of the campaign Caliper has managed to surpass their funding goal by 1k USD. Say what you will, the reaction from the masses says something about the vision of the brand and the unique niche they are filling. My horological knowledge grows every day but I can’t think of another brand with a true industrial ethos at the sub-$500 USD price point, please correct me if I am wrong. Did I mention that the View is an automatic (Miyota 82S0)?The first orders won’t ship until August but in the meantime I encourage you to take a look at this brand for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1672677610/the-view-a-stunning-self-winding-mechanical-watch